Freshman Leah Cauble scores 25 in Oran girls basketball team's win over Kelly

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- The Oran girls basketball team is starting to get used to its newest weapon.

Freshman Leah Cauble scored a game-high 25 points to lead the second-seeded Eagles to a 70-37 win over third-seeded Kelly in a semifinal of the Lady Devil Invitational on Thursday at Chaffee High School.

Cauble scored 15 points in the second quarter, during which she knocked down 7 of her 8 shots from the floor. Oran outscored the Hawks 24-10 in the period and led 41-16 at halftime.

"She pushed the ball down the floor, got some easy looks for herself, easy looks for her teammates," Oran coach Ethan Evans said. "We preach about pushing the ball and tempo, tempo, tempo, and I could tell by the end of the first half that she was getting a little winded.

"She just kind of provided that spark for us and really got our offense going."

The win advanced the Eagles to the Lady Devil Invitational championship game for the second time in school history. They'll be seeking their first title in the tournament when they face top-seeded Chaffee at 4 p.m. Saturday. Kelly will square off with fifth-seeded Woodland for third place at 2:30 p.m.

"It means a lot to get to the championship game," Evans said," but at the same time, we want to go in there and win it."

Kelly's Anna Hughes shoots over Oran's Brianna Stause in the second quarter of a semifinal at the Lady Devils Invitational Thursday, Dec. 10, 2015 in Chaffee, Missouri. (Glenn Landberg)

A putback by Tatum May gave Oran (4-0) the first points of the game, and Kelly (1-2) tied the game once when Tori Duenne converted on a conventional three-point play with 5:59 to go in the opening period. The Eagles responded immediately when Cauble found freshman Jessie Long under the basket for an easy bucket, triggering a 13-2 run for Oran over the final 5:50 of the quarter.

The Eagles turned the ball over 10 times in the first quarter but forced the Hawks into 16 turnovers during that span.

Evans said his team's sloppy play in the first eight minutes was the result of two days of bad practice.

"We've got a couple girls with some nagging injuries, so we kind of backed off in some regard the last couple of days," Evans said. "We were sloppy in practice yesterday and the day before, and we were sloppy in the game to begin with tonight."

A triple from the right key by Anna Hughes drew Kelly within six points at 19-11 with 5:48 to go in the second quarter, but Hannah Scherer answered with a bucket that sparked a 22-5 run for Oran to end the half. The Eagles were 19 of 37 (51 percent) from the field in the first half, compared to the Hawks' 5-of-21 (24 percent) shooting.

"When teams pressure us, we preach to get easy shots," said Evans, whose team produced many of its second-quarter points on the fastbreak. "We kind of like teams to press us so we can push the ball, get it up the floor and get some layups."

Long scored eight of her 11 points in the third quarter as Oran built a 64-31 lead heading into the final quarter. Brianna Stause also finished in double figures with 14 points, including eight in the third quarter.

"Anytime you can get quite a few girls in the scoring column and keep the scoring balanced, it's always nice to see because it puts a lot of pressure on the defense," Evans said. "You can't pick one person to guard. You've got to try to cover all five, and that's difficult for teams to do."

Cauble scored only four points in the second half but finished 12 of 19 (63 percent) from the floor.

Oran's Ashlyn McIntosh steps up to the line to shoot a free throw in the first quarter against Kelly during a semifinal at the Lady Devils Invitational Thursday, Dec. 10, 2015 in Chaffee, Missouri. (Glenn Landberg)

"She's a good basketball player," Kelly coach Rod McQuerter said about Cauble. "She's very tough to guard, and she had a great basketball game tonight. She earned everything she got tonight. ... She's the main focal point of her team, and they know that and are able to run their offense through her. They do a very good job of doing that."

Kelly was led by senior Tori Duenne, who finished with 17 points, while Hughes, a junior, added 14 points.

The Hawks turned the ball over 36 times, but McQuerter was pleased to see his team compete the entire game.

"I'm very proud of my girls," McQuerter said. "When you put a bunch of freshmen and sophomores out there and compete like we did tonight, what can I say? ... I'm very proud of my senior leader, Tori Duenne. She came out, and she led us tonight. But let's give Oran credit. They played a very good basketball game. They're a very good team."

Evans said he was happy with the way his team settled down in the second half, during which the Eagles committed only five turnovers.

"We're not always going to be able to get run-outs and shoot layups and all that," Evans said. "When you come up against a really tough team, you're going to have to run your half-court offense."

Oran made its first appearance in the tournament's championship game in 2013 when Woodland came away with a 44-38 victory.

Chaffee beat Oran twice last season, but Evans said he's looking forward to seeing how his team holds up this time around.

"We had a couple really good battles last year, and they bring back basically the same team," Evans said. "... We bring back a ton and brought in a ton, and we're just looking forward to a good matchup with them."

Kelly 6 10 15 6 -- 37

Oran 17 24 23 6 -- 70

KELLY (37) -- Tori Duenne 17, Anna Hughes 14, Emmy Bolen 6. FG 13, FT 9-14, F 17. (3-pointers: Bolen 1, Hughes 1. Fouled out: None.)

ORAN (70) -- Leah Cauble 25, Brianna Stause 14, Jessie Long 11, Hannah Scherer 9, Ashlyn McIntosh 7, Tatum May 4. FG 30, FT 5-14, F 15. (3-pointers: Stause 4, Cauble 1. Fouled out: McIntosh.)